Underland Overseas
by hagiasophia
Summary: 24 year old Alice Kingsleah comes home from trading in China only to be overtaken by pirates. With her friend the cook, who calls parley, she becomes the cooks assistant on the dangerously handsome Captain Jack Sparrow's ship. AlicexJack
1. Disclaimer

DISCLAIMER!

I forgot to put this on the first two chapters, so I'm just going to use this as a blanket disclaimer.

I do not own the characters Captain Jack Sparrow or Alice Kingsliegh or any other character that I choose to borrow from the movies Pirates of the Caribbean and Alice in Wonderland. However, there are some of my original characters and the story is also mine, so please respect that. Thank you!

Writers Comments:

Sorry it took so long for me to update this last time. I am focused on this now and will upload as much as I can while I still am getting ideas for this. Thank you for your patience, and I hope you enjoy the updates!


	2. Chapter 1

"Sails ho!" called a voice from the bird's nest. The captain, standing at the wheel, glanced up from his compass to see the faint white flash of sails. His compass was pointing straight at it. They had been tracking this merchant ship since it left China. They'd had to wait several days just following the ship until it made it to unprotected seas, but then had lost them in a small squall. That didn't matter now that they were in sight. The captain grinned in anticipation. His crew had been visiting China to enjoy its many attractions. Many of his crew had a soft spot for Chinese women. The captain never understood that. He preferred tall, fair, and fiery. Chinese women tended to be too polite for his taste. They were dolls, pretty to look at, but would break if you touched them. This last job, then back to America, he promised himself. The idea was so pleasing that he began to hum as he checked his compass and made a small adjustment to the wheel.

"Captain," the first mate called, "What should we do?"

"Keep her steady, we'll be there soon enough."

"Aye, captain."

As the ship inched closer to the prize, he allowed himself one small hope that the blond he'd seen with the crew was on the ship. What her place on the ship would be, he had no idea. Maybe a translator. It seemed like she understood the language well enough, but the merchants they had talked to in China all knew English. Maybe the cook, but why would she be going on land and talking with the merchants?

But if she wasn't part of the crew, why was she with them? Well, that was an easy question to answer. There were many English women that stayed in China. They worked as guides for those who visited. She might have taken them to those merchants because they didn't trust her to translate correctly. There are plenty of women who mistranslated the amount of money by a couple hundred yen.

"Captain, what are you saying?" asked a crewman as he was adjusting the sails.

"Was I talking out loud?" he asked himself. "I was just wondering if I should leave a couple people out in the open sea."

"Captain!" the voice from the birds nest called, interrupting his threat. "We're almost within firing range, what's the plan?" The captain thought for a moment.

"Let's sneak up on her. It would be nice to have an extra ship around."

"Aye, Captain," said the first mate, "I'll take a couple men and we'll slip around to the other side with a lifeboat."

"Good man." The captain watched as his first mate grabbed some of the thug crewmen to go with him. The others prepared ropes and planks of wood to board the ship with. Hopefully this would be a quick and easy catch. When are they ever?


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Selene, something smells wonderful," Alice said as she walked into the ships kitchen. The cook, a young, petite, dark skinned woman, had become Alice's best friend on the ship during this last voyage. She was one of the few people in the crew who actually took Alice seriously. Not many believed that the tall, blonde, 24 year old, English woman would be able to be in charge of anything, let alone a trading company, at first sight. However, after four years of traveling on the ship, she had convinced the majority of them that she at least knew what she was doing. She was glad that they had gotten rid of their last cook. He had been as sleazy as his food was greasy.

"Thank you, Miss." Selene told her. Her long dark hair was pulled up in a tight bun to avoid any loose hairs getting caught in the large pot of some type of soup that she was stirring.

"Selene, I've told you before, I'm no great Miss, just call me Alice," she pleaded, exasperated. Selene looked at her with her large, dark brown, almond shaped eyes.

"But you _are_ some great Miss," Selene replied firmly. "You're a co-member of a trading company and you travel the world telling people what to do. No other Miss at home could say that." Alice just rolled her eyes.

"No other Miss would want to," Alice told her before.

"No, they're all walking around with a codfish on their heads," Selene said dryly, making Alice laugh.

A yell sounded from the deck, startling both women. The yell was quickly followed by several more along with the sound of fighting. The two looked at each other.

"Pirates," Selene said.

"Again," Alice sighed. Though pirate attacks weren't common, they had had enough experience on their last trip to China. Alice had been kidnapped and they had almost lost half of their cargo. What the pirates hadn't realized was that she was very good in a fight. Pirates were a lot easier to kill then a Jabberwocky, even without the Vorpal sword. Alice looked at Selene, "What's the plan?" she asked, then stopped. Her friends' expression worried her. "What is it?" Selene shook her head.

"This attack is different," she cocked her head, "listen." Alice did. The sounds of fighting were slowing down, which was normal, but there weren't any death screams. "And why didn't they shoot at us first? They must have been following us since China, so they probably know our cargo would float long enough for them to gather it even if they did sink us." Now that she thought about it, Alice was confused at the pirates' actions, too. They still needed a plan, though. Heavy footsteps sounded on the stairs that connect the kitchen to the deck. "Quick, get behind me," Selene told her, "just follow my lead." Alice did as she was told.

The door to the kitchen banged open and Selene let out a shriek. Alice sighed inwardly, she hated playing the scared cook's assistant but it had saved their life more than once in China. Hopefully it would help now. She forced out a whimper as she cringed away as the dirty grinning pirate advanced on the two women. "Looks like I found me a tasty treat!" he said to himself. Alice pretended like she was hyperventilating as he reached his arm out and grabbed Selene's chin. Alice saw a glimmer of tears streak down Selene's cheek as they both continued to act pitiable.

"Please," Alice whispered half-heartedly, letting it catch in her throat. She wasn't as good as Selene to get herself to cry, but she could hold her own. Their pathetic act only seemed to amuse the pirate. He was about to jerk Selene away from Alice when Selene straightened from her cringe and glared in his face.

"Parley," she said her voice strong. Alice stopped. _What's parley?_ She thought to herself. _And why is she saying that?_ The pirate had stopped, too, at Selene's word. He looked at the two of them, his eyes saying everything he wanted, and then he let out a groan as he released Selene and stepped back. He glared at them and stomped out of the room.

"Stay here," he growled and slammed the door.

When he left, Alice looked at Selene questioningly. Selene wouldn't look at her. "Explain," she demanded. Selene sighed.

"When I said 'parley' I demanded to see the captain. It's pirate code. I can't be harmed until I meet the captain," she explained, still avoiding eye-contact.

"And you know about this why?" Alice asked. Selene sighed again, and then met her eyes.

"My father was a pirate." That made Alice hesitate.

"Why didn't you tell me this earlier?" she asked, putting her hand on her friends' shoulder. Selene looked down again.

"It's not something that I'm proud of," she responded quietly. "My mother was just a teenager when they ransacked her village. My father took a fancy to her. He was one of the better ones, so she didn't argue too much. Surprisingly, he had enough honor to actually marry her. He was a decent father, horrible moral teacher, but better then some." Alice listened intently. She'd known Selene for almost a year, and this was the first time she's heard of her family life. "He died in another raid when I was about twelve. Me and mother were dropped off in a port city soon after. We were hired by a restaurant as cooks, you found me there, and you know the rest." Selene shrugged. Alice stared at her for a second then enveloped her in a hug.

"Oh, Selene, what an interesting life you must have had," she said, surprising Selene, who then laughed at the irony of Alice Kingsleigh telling her that she had led an interesting life.

The two then settled down to wait for the pirate's captain.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Captain!" one of the thugs called as he barged into the captain's quarters.

"Yes?" he asked, setting down his bottle of rum.

"Some called 'parley'," he said. The captain sighed as he stumbled over to the thug.

"What's your name?" he asked nicely. A confused look passed over the other guys face.

"Uh, Taurean." The captain stepped back and gave Taurean a disbelieving look. The thug grinned, "my ma liked names, it means 'strong as a bull'."

"Of course it does," the captain replied. He clapped a hand on Taurean's shoulder, "Well, Terry, why don't you just go dispose of those that called 'parley'?" the thug gave him another blank look.

"But that isn't what the code says," he stuttered.

"You're a pirate, aren't you? Hang the code, and hang the rules. They're more like guidelines anyway, right?" He said as he waved the crew member out of his quarters.

"I get to keep the treasures!" Taurean said to himself as he turned around and started to head out. "That gypsy one is nice, but what will I do with the blonde one?" The captain grabbed his arm and spun him around.

"You know? On second thought, why don't you bring them here? I'll decide what to do with them then." The captain said, and then motioned out Taurean who grumbled at his change of mind. The captain stood still in the middle of his quarters thinking, _do I dare hope?_


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

After what seemed like hours, but was probably not even one, the two women heard footsteps on the stairs again. The same pirate as before came in, looking decidedly unhappy. "The Cap'n will see you now," he grumbled, then walked back out. Alice and Selene exchanged anxious looks before following. As they went out onto the deck, they saw that most of the crew had been captured and tied up. The damage to the boat itself was minimum. They followed the pirate across wood plank that was set up between the ships and into a cluttered mess of a room that could only be the captain's quarters.

"Thank you Terry," the captain spoke. He was standing behind a table with his back to them. "You may go now." The large pirate left grumbling. The two women stood silently in the middle of the room.

Selene stood calmly, her hands at her sides, and stared at the back of the man's head. Alice twitched, glanced around the room just to return her attention to the man in front of her. Around the room, bookshelves with books stacked haphazardly in each shelf. The man had on a loose white shirt under a brown vest. The room, a thick green and red Oriental rug lay on the floor. Him, a white sash went around his waist and a brown leather belt held his gun and had a compass dangling from it. The room, still silent. The captain, brown breaches were tucked into his knee high boots. His long dark hair was in multiple braids and a red bandana kept the top under control. His captain's hat sat on the table.

Abruptly the captain twirled around, his arms outstretched in welcome. "Greetings ladies, welcome to my ship." The man bowed extravagantly as he spoke. When he stood back up, his chocolate brown eyes met with Alice's clear blue ones and his mouth turned up into a half smile. She blinked. _Why does he look familiar?_ She thought to herself. "Let me introduce myself. I," he paused to make a grand gesture, "am Captain Jack Sparrow." He looked at them expectantly. "What? No applause?"

"What do you want with the crew?" Selene asked calmly, ignoring the dramatics of the captain. The captain came around the desk to stand in front of Selene. He was average height for a man, a couple inches taller than Alice and several inches taller than the petite Selene.

He leaned in close to her face, "That's not very polite, now is it?" He leaned back against the table so he could look at the two women together. "Aren't you supposed to introduce yourselves when you call on someone?" Selene just looked at him, her face blank. Alice shifted her weight from foot to foot. They had both agreed to keep up the cook's assistant act until they knew more about the situation, but it grated on her that she wasn't in a position to say anything.

"We are not calling, we are the prisoners of filthy pirates under the worst pirate that I've ever heard of," Selene said patiently as if talking to a small child. Captain Jack leaned forward again.

"But you have heard of me," he told her. Alice felt her mouth twitch, but suppressed the smile. Jack, who saw it out of the corner of his eye, grinned but kept his attention on Selene. "So, since I'm the Captain, and you are my prisoners, you will tell me your names, savvy?" he asked her.

Selene relaxed her shoulders, allowing the show of defeat. "I'm Selene," she told him, "I'm head cook of the, well," she stopped and tried again, "I **was** the head cook of the ship you just invaded." Jack nodded and brushed the implied insult away.

"And you, love?" he asked, turning his attention to Alice, "What's your name?" Alice glanced down, partly for the role she was playing, and partly to avoid meeting his eyes again.

"Alice, cook's assistant," she said softly, nodding her head meekly.

"Oh really? Is that what you're going with?" he asked almost to himself, "Well, welcome aboard the Black Pearl. You'll probably be surprised to learn that I have a few new job openings on board, and if you'd like, you can still be head and assistant cook on your," he paused and looked out his window to the large ship he had just captured, "boat," he finished. Jack glanced back and forth between the two women. "I'll just let you two talk it out," he said, "I'll just be out here." He walked out of the room, leaving the two to talk.

Selene turned around to look at Alice. Her eyes were wide and she was shaking. "Selene?" Alice asked her friend, concerned, "What's wrong? What is it?" Selene's eyes slowly focused on Alice.

"I was just offered a job by the Pirate Lord of the Caribbean," she said, her voice muted. Alice stared at her in shock.

"That, he, What?" she asked, confused. "That man is a Pirate Lord?" Alice didn't really understand what it meant, but she knew it must be important, especially if Selene was acting like this. "Are you going to take the job?"

Selene looked at Alice as if she were crazy. "Of course I am!" she exclaimed, "And so are you! We'll escape as soon as we can, but being an employee of him is much better than a prisoner. Easier to escape from, too." She ran a hand through her hair to calm herself down, back to her serene state. "He most likely pays better then you, too," she said, her dry humor returning with her calm.

Alice smiled, glad to have her friend returned to normal. "Yes, doubtless that he does."


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"So," the captain said, slipping back into the room. "Have you come to a decision?" Selene and Alice looked at each other and nodded. Selene stepped forward.

"Aye," Selene responded softly with a small bow of the head, "Captain." Alice mimicked the bow. Jack grinned at the two.

"Well, then," he clapped his hands together, "you probably ought to start cooking! You have almost twice as many mouths to feed tonight." The two straightened up. Suddenly Selene gasped.

"What is it?" Alice asked, concerned. Selene looked at her, her eyes crinkled a little from a suppressed smile.

"The soup!" she told her, "I forgot about the soup in all the commotion. Could you stay here and learn our position while I go check on the soup?" Selene asked her friend.

"Of course," Alice assured, though she was worried about being alone in a room with the captain, and a not a little confused by her friend, "I would just be in the way there, right?" Selene nodded in agreement and swiftly left the room. Slowly, Alice looked at the Captain to see him studying her, hand on chin. She tried to remember to keep up the cook's assistant act. "Um, may I ask some questions of you?" He stood there for another second before throwing his arms out in a wide gesture.

"Of course, love, of course!" he told her. He gestured to a chair in the room, which she hadn't noticed before in all the clutter, "Please, have a seat." She did as she was told while he pulled another chair from somewhere and sat it in front of hers so they could sit and talk face to face. "I also have some questions for you," he informed her, "but go ahead and ask away."

"Where will our cabins be?" she asked first.

"I don't see why they can't stay where they are," he told her. At her confused look he explained, "I'm keeping your lovely boat, uh," he paused, "what is It called again?"

"_King Charles' Sleigh_," she told him. He nodded.

"Yes that. I'm keeping your boat and setting it up as a backup boat. I have a tendency of losing my lovely _Black Pearl_ and having to rely on other people for rides. I've gotten tired of having to do that," he confessed, "So I'm keeping your _Sleigh_ boat for those times." Alice stared at him in shock.

"You've lost your ship before?" she asked disbelievingly. He tilted his head, his eyes getting wide.

"Are you questioning my abilities as Captain of this vessel?" he asked, his voice low.

"No!" Alice denied quickly, "Of course not, it's not my place."

"Good, I'll not be having another mutiny on my hands," he said to himself. Alice just watched him, unbelieving. _Who does he remind me of?_ She thought to herself again. "What?" he asked, uncomfortable because of her staring, "Do I have something in my teeth?"

"No," Alice said, shaking her head, "you just remind me of someone, but I can't remember who." He looked at her in shock.

"Someone like me? I'm the one and only Jack Sparrow! How could there be anyone similar to me?" he asked her. It was a rather farfetched idea, she had to admit.

"I don't know," she said quietly. Jack leaned in closer to her, examining her face.

"What's your real position on that ship?" he asked her softly. She leaned all the way back in her chair. He smelled of the ocean, a touch of rum, and freedom. His dark chocolate eyes stared into her, demanding the truth. She looked at the rug on the floor, away from his face. _His eyes are wrong,_ she thought to herself, but she couldn't really complain about them. Especially when she couldn't think with them focused on her.

"I, uh, I'm the cooks assistant," she told him. He leaned in closer to her, close enough that she could feel his warm breath tickle her neck.

"Do cooks assistants go on land and talk to merchants with the rest of the crew?" he asked her. She turned her head to stare at him, his face was just a few inches from hers. A smug smile was teasing her.

"You were watching us?" she gasped. She knew it had been a possibility, but to have this man watch her for, she didn't know how long, was somehow different than just a normal group of pirates. She didn't know if it was better or worse, but it was different.

"Of course, love," he said blithely, leaning back into his chair. "We watched you for about a week before you set sail. You have a nice supply of silks in your cargo, don't you?" His statement sent goose bumps up Alice's arm.

Thinking quickly, Alice tried to come up with a simple explanation, "I know some Chinese, so I can help translate."

"No no no," Jack shook his head, "All the merchants you went to spoke English."

"Well, their accent is thick and difficult for most of the crew to understand, so it's easier to have someone understand the language," the lie evolved. The captain leaned in, so close to her face that his dreads brushed her cheeks. His dark eyes seemed to read every thought that passed through her mind. Alice froze in place.

"I don't believe you," he said quietly, his breath stirring her stray hairs around her face. "But since you interest me, I'll let you stay with it." Alice sat there, unable to move or even to breathe.

Jack stared at this ethereal creature that had fallen into his lap. She was in his grasp, but he couldn't make himself reach out and touch her. She shone with a childlike purity. _It's as if she still has that beautiful perfect world that every child creates inside her,_ he thought to himself, not exactly sure where the thought came from. "How old are you?" he asked her.

"Twenty-four," she said, surprised into telling him. He leaned back, thinking to himself.

"Good age," he muttered to himself. "And your friend?"

Alice blinked a couple times, trying to think if Selene had ever told her her age. "I, uh, I'm not sure," she said honestly.

Jack muttered something else to himself, Alice couldn't quiet make it out. They sat there like that for another minute, Alice not really knowing what she should do.

"Well," Jack began loudly, startling Alice, "Any other questions? No? Good. Now off you go." He said it so quickly, Alice was still trying to catch up as he pushed her out the door. She stumbled and he slammed the door shut behind her. Alice took a couple seconds to compose herself before walking back across the board connecting the ships.

She shook her head and muttered, "He's mad!"


End file.
